Car-roof



(No Model.)

A. P. LE GROS.

UAR R00?- No. 280,635. Patented July 3, 1883.

fly], I I 1 Q 4 6 weaves jhreiziar UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED P. LE GROS, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

CAR-ROOF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,635, dated July 3, 1883.

Application filed December 9. 1882.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED P. LE Gizos, of the city of Louisville, county of Jefferson, and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Roofs for Railroad Box-Oars and the Running-Board thereto Attached.

A full, clear, and exact description is given in the following in reference to the accompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to improve the car-roof of a railroad box or freight car in the following two particulars first, to have the wooden roof covered with canvas, which is always well saturated with paint; secondly, to have the running-board fixed or attached to the ridge of the roof in such a manner that it can be removed without injuring the roof. The original object is that the roof of the car be guarded from breaks, holes, or leaks of any kind.

I also accompany the application with a drawing, showing, in Figure 1, a vertical view along the side of the roof; in Fig. 2, a vertical section of the running-board; in Fig. 8, like section of the blocks on which it is to rest, with projection of adjoining part of the roof; and in Fig. 4, an cndview of roof.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to construct the improved carroof with runningboard, according to my invention, I now specify the same, referring to the drawings above mentioned. I

Laying down the side beams and gable rafters, as usual, I lay upon them planks of con venient thicknessfor which I would recommend one and one-half inchan'd of convenient widthfor which I would recommend six inchesrunning down from ridge or middle 011 each side beyond the side beams, as is now customary. These boards are nailed down to the side beams and rafters, as usual. A in the drawings, wherever it occurs, represents such boardssay six inches wide on their lower surface with a half-rabbet cut out at each edge from their upper faces, where they meet the adjoining boards-except the two extreme boards, which have the rabbet cut in only one edgethe two half-rabbets together leaving room for inserting a dovetailed stick of the form shown in the drawings. The letter B,

(No model A wherever it appears in the drawings, represents such a stick. The lower edges of the rabbet are slightly inclined downward to where the two boards meet, as shown. On either side of the rabbet is a groove, (marked D in the drawings,) and a similar groove is put in each side of the dovetailed stick B. (This groove is marked E in the drawings.) The dovetailed sticks should protrude slightly say one-fourth inchab0ve the upper surface of the boards; but this is not essential. On the upper surface of the boards, and along the inner surface of the rabbets, a thick coat of ordinary paint is laid. Over this coat of paint, and fitting into therabbets, canvas is drawn, (marked O in drawings) and this canvas is held down by the dovetailed sticks, as shown in the first drawing. The canvas is painted also 011 its upper side. The obj cct of the paint on the inner side of the canvas is mainly to protect the wood from warping and the nails from rusting.

In order to construct the roof according to this method, the first board, beginning at one end of the frame, ought first to be nailed down next its upper surface, and the surface of the rabbet should be painted heavily. Then draw the canvas over it, and afterward paint the lower side of the canvas where it fits into the half-rabbet, as well as its upper side; then draw it into the half-rabbet. stick is laid down, and a coat of paint put on its upper side or on the inside of the canvas j oining it. Then put paint on the other side of the can vas. The next board is then laid down; but at least the inside of the half-rabbet which joins that of the first board has to be painted before the board is nailed in its place. The builder will proceed in the same order to lay down each board, put on paint, draw the canvas farther, lay down the next dovetailed stick and the next board, nailing down each board when it is put in its place till he comes to the last board, which has a half-rabbet on only one edge or side. The object and effect of the inclined bases of the rabbet is to keep a reservoir of moist paint between them and the fiat base of the dovetailed stick, and the same object and effect will be also subserved by the grooves in the sides of the rabbet and stick.

Next, the dovetailed the roof-boards rabbeted in their side ed gcs, of

strips adapted to be placed within the rabbets, and of the canvas and paint, the rabbets and strips being so formed with reference to each other as to leave channels capable of retaining an excess of paint, so as to keep the canvas moist and to fill, any cracks of the wood, substantiallyin all or any of the modes above described.

" ALFRED P. LE GROS.

\Vitnesses:

LEWIS N. DAXTIZ, J. R. DUPUY. 

